Chocolate Nut Log

by Teniel Moore–Raw Foods Contributor

I am a sucker for anything sweet. I always have to have something in my fridge I can grab to enjoy for that sweet fix.

My chocolate nut log is another super fast treat to make that you can adjust to include what ever you have in your cupboard. This recipe is full of some great healthy fats and lots of chocolatey goodness from the raw cacao. I hope you enjoy making this the next time your sweet tooth calls!

Chocolate Nut Log

1/2 cup of raw cacao powder

1/2 cup of raw coconut oil

Few pinches of good quality pink salt

1 heaped tsp of peanut or almond butter

1/4 cup of rice malt syrup * see alternatives

Large handful of macadamia nuts and almonds

Handful of shredded coconut

Instructions

Turn your oven on and toast the nuts and coconut until the coconut is slightly golden.

Keep an eye on it as it can burn fast. Should only take about 10 minutes.

Melt your coconut oil and mix in all the other ingredients including your nuts and coocnut together in a large bowl.

Line a small dish or tin (I use a loaf tin) with wax proof paper and pour your chocolate mix in making it even and level. Then set in the fridge for at least an hour.

Cut into small squares and keep in fridge.

I have also made this log using walnuts and brown rice puffs. I’ve even skipped the cacao & sweetener altogether and used carob powder instead. So feel free to play with this recipe and add your favourites. Just keep it healthy!

*Alternatives:

If you can’t find rice malt syrup then add any sweetener that you enjoy.

maybe 2 -3Tbs of maple syrup tasting as you go and add more or less as needed.

TENIEL MOORE OF ADDICTED TO RAW

Raw Foods Contributor

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Creamy Chicken Rice Casserole With Crunchy Buttery Herbed Cracker Topping –Gluten Free

There is nothing like a creamy, comforting chicken rice casserole with a butter crunchy cracker topping. Back when Todd and I were first married, I made a recipe very similar to this one, but it has not made it into our recipe box in years because the ingredients were not what I would have considered healthy.

When I had the opportunity to come up with a healthy, gluten-free recipe for Breton crackers, a crunchy cracker topped casserole is what immediately came to mind. I decided to do a little makeover on the recipe that I used to make when we were newlyweds and the results were amazing!

We are no longer newlyweds (we are now going on almost 20 years!) but the flavors of this casserole took me back to those sweet days, and it really made me smile that all 3 of my girls heartily approved of this recipe, too, especially since I don’t make creamy comforting casseroles very often around here!

I started by baking some organic chicken breasts. I just sprinkled them with grill seasoning and throw them in the oven until done. These were sliced pretty thin so they only took about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

I wanted to keep this recipe gluten-free, as we try to limit gluten around here and I also have several extended family members who eat gluten- free. I love having a few key recipes on hand that are easy to make and fully gluten- free.

The creamy base of this recipe is sour cream and cream of chicken soup. I used organic sour cream and used Pacific brand cream of chicken soup as it is gluten- free and also free of ingredients that I would not want to feed my family. I am pretty picky about pre-made cream soups and this brand make me very happy, and also tasted great!

I used brown rice for the base of the casserole for extra fiber and flavor. I used to make the rice separate from casserole, but not this time. I loved throwing it all in one dish.

After mixing the shredded chicken, sour cream and cream of chicken soup together, simply spread out on top of the rice layer.

Here is where it gets good. BRETON GLUTEN-FREE HERB & GARLIC CRACKERS. I’ve done a lot of tasting of gluten-free crackers, and I have not found one with such tender-crisp texture as Breton crackers. These crackers are so good,–bursting with herb and garlic flavor. They are made with arrowroot and green lentil flours, which make them quite good for you. They can be eaten alone or topped with delicious toppings for a nutritious snack your family will love. We like to top them with some organic turkey and cheese for an easy protein-filled snack.

There are several flavors:

BRETON GLUTEN-FREE HERB & GARLIC

BRETON GLUTEN-FREE ORIGINAL WITH FLAX

BRETON GLUTEN-FREE BLACK BEAN WITH ONION AND GARLIC

BRETON GLUTEN-FREE WHITE BEAN WITH SALT AND PEPPER

For this recipe, I crunched up the herb and garlic crackers and drizzled them with a bit of melted organic butter for the crunchy casserole topping.

I use a ziplock bag to keep mess to minimum. I crunched one sleeve of Breton Herb and Garlic crackers all up and then drizzled the butter right into the bag, then sealed and did a bit of a shimmy- shake to distribute it evenly.

The crunchy crackers are the last layer to the casserole. It really is a breeze to throw together, especially if you have pre-cooked chicken and rice ready to go.

Here is the casserole all baked and ready to eat. You have the chewiness of the brown rice, the creaminess of the chicken mixture, and the crunch of the cracker topping. It is GOOD…and for me there is the bonus of being taken back to those newlywed days!

Creamy Chicken Rice Casserole With Crunchy Buttery Herbed Cracker Topping

2 cups chopped cooked seasoned chicken

1 10 oz-12oz cream of chicken soup (Pacific in a box is gluten-free)

1 8 oz carton sour cream

1 1/2 cups Breton Gluten- Free Garlic & Herb crushed crackers ( I used one sleeve)

1/4 cup butter melted

2 1/2 cups brown rice, cooked

Combine chicken, soup, & sour cream. Put rice in 9×13 pan, add chicken mixture & spread out. Combine crushed crackers and butter in a large ziplock bag. Sprinkle over chicken mixture.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Brunch/ RECIPES/ Sweets

Gramma’s Crumb Cake

I wanted to rename this recipe Renee’s Awesome Coffee Cake, because the recipe is from my sweet friend Renee. She served it to me one day with a cup of coffee, and I was in coffee cake heaven. I decided to keep the original name, despite what the cake means to me, which is memories of sitting with my dear friend in her dining room and getting loved on several times now with this same cake recipe. Renee was sweet enough to share her recipe with me, so of course I had to share it with all of you.

This cake is so very good. It is dense but moist at the same time. The crumbly top is a sweet cinnamon-sugar streusel type topping. My favorite thing about this cake is that it uses ingredients already on hand and can be thrown together in a super fast and easy way. It is a great recipe to bring out when you have unexpected guests and just need to whip something up that will make the whole house feel warm and inviting because it smells amazing! I love to make it on a Saturday morning, as it is a great way to get the family to roll out of bed and sit around the table eating slow, for some quality morning time together.

Gramma’s Crumb Cake

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 Tablespoons coconut oil (original recipe calls for shortening, could also use butter)

1 egg, lightly beaten

milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

butter

cinnamon

sugar

Combine flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. Cut in coconut oil (or shortening or butter). Reserve 1/2 cup of dry, crumbly mixture and set aside. Place beaten egg in a measuring cup and add enough milk to equal one cup. Add vanilla & combine with flour mixture, mixing well. Pour into a greased 8×8 pan and sprinkle with reserved dry mixture. Dot with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar (use your judgement, I used about 4-5 tablespoons of butter) Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Serves 8.

Meals/ RECIPES

Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

I was told about this recipe from my sweet sister-in-law, Tanya. I always enjoy asking her what she has made for dinner recently, as she is quite the foodie and great cook. I also love getting on her Pinterest boards and repinning recipes she has pinned, as she has great taste.

The last time I asked her if she has made any good dinner recipes lately, she told me about this Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas. She made them on Meat-less Monday & told me they were delicious and well received by her family.

My ears perked up the minute she said ‘roasted vegetables.’ I love roasting vegetables, so much so that I wrote a whole post about it. It is a great way to bring out all the amazing flavor of the veggies and it is an easy way to make the whole house smell delicious! I love that this recipe starts with roasting veggies.

The recipe comes together so easily. It is much easier than rolling the typical enchiladas, as you don’t have to worry about the tortillas tearing.

My family loved it, I loved making it, and I’m delighted to have another recipe that will make it into my menu plan regularly.

Thanks to Two Peas In A Pod for sharing the recipe on Pinterest. I followed her recipe, except I added corn to the recipe and skipped the cilantro and jalapeño. In her post, she talks about how easily this recipe freezes. I’m not sure I could freeze it after smelling the amazing roasted veggies, but maybe if I doubled the recipe–one to eat and one to freeze–yep, that would work!

Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 large red pepper, chopped, seeds removed

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 medium yellow squash, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and Pepper

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno, minced (optional, I didn’t use)

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional, I didn’t use)

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 cups enchilada sauce ( I love Trader Joes brand)

9-10 small corn tortillas

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place red pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, and onion on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss until vegetables are coated. Season with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for 30-40 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove vegetables from oven and let cool to room temperature. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

2. Grease and 8×8 square baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine roasted vegetables, black beans, corn, cumin, chili powder, garlic, jalapeño and cilantro. Stir and season with salt and pepper.

3. Spread 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce into the bottom of the pan. You might have to cut the tortillas to make them fit. Top with 1/3 of the vegetable/bean mixture and 1/3 of the cheese. Make a second layer of tortilla, enchilada sauce, vegetables/beans, and cheese. Top with a layer of tortillas, enchilada sauce, vegetables/beans, and cheese. Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray and cover the pan.

4. Bake enchiladas for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the enchiladas are bubbling. Remove enchiladas from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm.

………………..

I like to serve them with rice. Enjoy~

Featured/ Meals/ RECIPES

Chicken Fried Rice

This recipe is a new staple at our house. It tastes better than takeout and is much healthier, too. You control the amount of oil and it uses brown rice for extra fiber. It uses ingredients that most would already have on hand, and it is a recipe that the whole family loves and gets excited about.

It is super convenient to have a whole meal in one, as it contains protein from the meat, fiber from the brown rice, and even has your serving of vegetables. The recipe calls for uncooked chicken breast, but if you have leftover, already-cooked chicken, use that and make this meal SUPER easy!

For an extra special meal, try serving this with my Baked Vegetable Egg Rolls.

Chicken Fried Rice

3 cups cooked long-grain brown rice (preferable leftover rice)

3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into 3/4 inch pieces

1 Tbsp sesame oil, divided

1 Tbsp canola oil (or coconut oil) divided

1 1/3 cups frozen peas and carrots blend

3 green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 large eggs

3 Tbsp low- sodium soy sauce

Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper

Directions

In a large non-stick wok or skillet, heat 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil and 1 1/2 tsp of canola/coconut oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add chicken pieces, season lightly with salt and pepper and salute until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.

Return skillet to medium-high heat, add remaining 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil and 1/12 tsp canola or coconut oil. Add peas and carrots blend and green onions and salute 1 minute, then add garlic and salute 1 minute longer. Push veggies to edges of pan, add eggs in center and cook and scramble. Return chicken to skillet along with rice. Add in soy sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.

How-Tos/ Meals/ RECIPES

6 Food Categories For Easy Meal Planning

I’m off track with my meal planning, and boy, do I miss it.

I never have had an elaborate or complicated meal plan that I followed, but I would sit down once a week, figure out the meals I wanted to make and make a list of the groceries I would need before grocery shopping. I have not been doing that lately, and it sure shows when it comes time to make dinner.

I’ve decided to get back on track, and have come up with a bit of structure to help me in that. I know I need to keep things super simple right now in order to succeed, so I came up with some broad categories that will help guide my meal planning and keep our menu well-rounded.

Eating Meat

You will notice in the below meal categories that we have added meat back into our diet. There are several reasons why, but the main reason was how hard it was to get all the nutrients and protein my girls needed without having meat in our diet. They are much more picky of eaters than I am, and it was super hard to find enough plant protein foods that they would eat. I believe for my own personal health and cancer history that less meat is most healthy for me, but my focus this year has been brain health, and I became convinced that my growing girls and their beautiful brains needed more nutrition than what our vegan diet was providing. Because of this, I added fish, organic chicken, and organic grass-fed beef, and organic eggs back into our diet. I buy our eggs, beef and chicken local, organic and farm-fresh, which makes it much more expensive, so we still eat much less meat than the average household.

I buy enough meat for us to have one meal of ground beef, chicken and fish. That takes care of 3 meals of the week. We love having breakfast for dinner, so that makes 4 meals…throw in a vegetarian meal and some sort of easy pasta dish, and that makes 6 meal categories. I’m not worrying about having a 7th meal category, as there are always leftovers and we order in food once a week for our Friday family nights.

6 Meal Categories + meal ideas:

Fish

Seasoned Baked White Fish

Teriyaki Salmon

Fish Sticks

Ground Beef

Spaghetti Sauce

Meatloaf

Korean Beef Over Rice

Sloppy Joes

Beef Enchiladas

Mexican Food Pile-On

Tacos

Chicken

Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken Noodle Soup

Homemade Popcorn Chicken

Rotisserie Chicken In The Crockpot

Chicken Enchiladas

Hungarian Paprika Chicken

Breakfast for Dinner/Eggs

Quiche

Breakfast Casserole

French Toast

Pancakes

Egg Salad Sandwiches

Vegetarian

Lentil Taco Salad

Bean Burritos w/Homemade Crockpot No-Fry Beans

French Lentil Soup

Stir Fry

Baked Vegetable Egg Rolls

Red Lentil Sloppy Joes

Sesame Chili Udon Noodles

Pasta

(I often buy quinoa pasta for the added plant protein benefit)

Easy Tomato Sauce

Tortellini Pesto Soup

Pesto Pasta

Company Pasta

Orzo Pasta With Caramelized Vegetables

I think I will like having these categories in the forefront of my mind as I make our my grocery list. I have a ton of recipes here at New Nostalgia to choose from, but I also love using my Pinterest boards for recipe ideas.

………………..

What about you?

Do you meal plan? How do you decide what to make each week?

Does it help to break it down into categories?

What are some of your staple dinners?

FAMILY/ FUN/DIY/ Holidays/Parties/ Kids/Family/ Leaving A Legacy/ RECIPES/ Sweets

My Avery Turns 12 + Cakepops!

Oh if the whole world could know my Avery Rose! I cannot believe she is 12 years old. My baby…a year away from being a teenager.

She has been a joy her whole life, even during her 2’s & 3’s when the stubborn streak in her could turn a simple grocery shopping trip into the best lesson in humbleness for me as her Mom.

Now that she is 12, I rarely see that stubbornness used in negative ways, but boy do I see a strength in my girl that is going to take her far. There is a resoluteness about her, a grounded-ness that shows the world that she is more concerned for others than herself. She has not gotten caught up in trying to impress those around her with artificial-ness, but instead shows her love through deeds and gifts…most of which are homemade, whether through the arts or through her amazing ability to bake.

She lives for a celebration, whether a holiday or a birthday, because that is where her gifts thrive. She goes around this house, usually in a sneaky manner so to ‘surprise’ those she loves, and will go all out in her creations to signify that what we are celebrating at the time is important. She will spend hours on Pinterest coming up with ideas of what would be the best way to love on her family, and will come to me, perch on the end of my bed in the evenings when she has the most of my attention, and whisper her best laid plans. She shares with me as I am the one who has the car keys to get the supplies she would need, and she knows I too, love to love others in this way. There is always a carefully drawn-up list of all that will be needed, and discussion led by her of how to make it the most frugal.

My girl had to take the reins in planning her own birthday this year, as I have been down and out the past 2 weeks with medication side effects that I won’t bore you with in this post. I will say it was severe and knocked me down harder than I have been knocked down physically since my chemo days.

Because I was not well, Avery was extra independent in her birthday planning, but still would come and sit at the end of my bed to fill me in on updates, as that had become just about the only place she could find me the last 2 weeks. She was so sweet in reassuring me that she didn’t mind making her own birthday treats and plans.

We celebrated her birthday this past Sunday, and the day could not have been better. The day before, my symptoms had let up in the early evening enough for me to get my girl out with her list and to buy her birthday supplies. It was sweet time with her, the day was warm and it felt so good to get out. I was slower than usual, and honestly, the forced slow pace made the time even sweeter.

She had her list in her hand and was on a mission at Target, and I followed with my heart just bursting with pride for my girl. She chose some fun chevron napkins that had a color in them that matched some leftover party balloons we already had at home. She chose some Starburst candies to sprinkle on the table, careful to get the kind that had wrappers to match the napkins.

Her birthday plan was to come home from church, eat one of her favorite meals with lots of treats, then go with the family and a friend to a place in town called Defy Gravity. It is an indoor trampoline park that is fairly new in town. I loved the plan. It was simple and doable. I prayed that my stomach would feel well enough to watch my lovlies and their friends bounce up and down.

With her list in hand, we bought all the groceries we would need to make her favorite sandwiches.

Here was her menu plan:

Baked Ham & Cheese Party Sandwiches

Potato Chips

Strawberries

Mini Cans of Sprite

Cakepops

I saw her eyeing some fun easter mini-cupcakes, and she had been so sweet about being frugal that I told her to grab them. They came a dozen and would be perfect to stick 12 candles in. Her eyes and face lit up at my suggestion, and that alone was worth the artificial color and ingredients, plus the $2.99 they cost.

She scoured the dollar section for some treats to make treat bags for her friend and sisters. She looked over some super cute treat bags, then said she didn’t need the fancy bags that cost over 3 dollars. She came home and made her own adorable treat bags out of brown paper sacks and washi tape. Again, my heart almost burst. What a sweet, creative, frugal girl.

When we got home, Avery got busy making the table festive & blowing up her balloons, then got to work on the cake pops. I thought she would be in the kitchen for hours making those cake pops. Well, she wasn’t. She made the cake part and we watched a family tv show as it baked. When the cake cooled and it was time to make the pops, I left her alone in the kitchen and hoped she would have good luck. It was not even 30 minutes later that she brought the finished cake pops up to me. They were perfect and so cute. She told me she had read up on how to make the perfect cake pop and how all the tricks that she learned really helped make it easy.

Here is the recipe she used, with tips from my Avery to follow:

Cake Pops

Ingredients:

1 cake mix + ingredients listed on box

1/3 cup prepared frosting

candy melts (available at most craft stores)

6 inch lollipop sticks (available at most craft stores)

sprinkles (optional)

food coloring (optional, to tint candy melt if desired)

styrofoam (to hold the pops upright to dry)

Instructions:

Prepare a boxed cake mix as directed on the box. (Avery used a chocolate cake mix.) Let the cake cool, then crumble the cake into fine crumbs with your hands in a large bowl. Mix in about 1/3 cup of icing (Avery used store bought milk chocolate frosting) using your hands. The mixture should be dense but not gooey. Using a cookie scoop (Avery used a 1 T scoop) scoop out mixture. Roll the mixture into your hand and pack it tightly into a ball. Continue until mixture is gone. It should make about 18 cake balls.

Coating:

Add about 5 candy melt morsels into a small jar and melt them in the microwave. This will be used sort of as ‘glue’ to hold the cake onto the stick. Dip your stick into the melted candy melt and quickly stick it into a cake ball at least half way down. Repeat with remaining cake balls. Set the balls onto a cookie sheet and freeze for about 10 minutes.

Put the rest of your candy melts into a microwavable jar and melt according to the package instructions. If you are wanting to color your candy melt different colors, used several different jars and add desired color after the candy is melted.

Dip the cake pop into the jar, evenly coating it. Let the coating drip off. If using sprinkles, add immediately before coating sets. Place the cake pop right side up onto styrofoam. Repeat for remaining pops.

Tips From Avery:

~using the candy melts as ‘glue’ is key. Don’t skip this part!

~smaller balls are easier to work with…don’t make them too big!

~when dipping, just tip the stick in several directions instead of swirling. This is a more gentle motion that will keep that cake ball on the stick.

~using candy melt coating is key! It easily covered dark chocolate and has the perfect consistency.

Her birthday morning came around and I woke up quite sick, still from side effects of medications. I sent the family on to the early service at church, and knew I had a couple hours to get myself together as much as possible. The kitchen was a mess from late night cake pop making, and I still needed to put together the sandwiches. We had a 12:30 appointment at Defy Gravity and would spend about an hour and 1/2 there, so eating needed to take place between church and jumping.

I prayed the nausea would subside, and got to work. I did fine until dealing with the slimy slices of ham. Not the best texture or scent when one feels sick! I just buckled down and did what I had to do. I took a bit of anti-nausea medication, had a few friends praying that I would feel well enough for the party, and prayers were answered. I started to feel better just as everyone was eating their sandwiches, and I got to go watch my sweet girl jump and jump and jump! She even let her sisters bring a friend, so it was a lot of fun for everyone. I am so thankful it all worked out, that I got to go, and that I am here to see my sweet girls grow up and celebrate these milestones with them.

……………

Avery Rose – I am so proud to be your Mom. You make me smile every single day. Keep being you and remember how very much you are loved!

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